Survey: Many Boston Employers Are Hiring

This time a year ago, more employers planned to cut jobs than to add them. Now the situation is reversed.

A survey from the staffing firm Manpower says that 16 percent of Greater Boston companies plan to hire through the end of the year. Only half as many plan to reduce their workforce.

Even with the national unemployment rate staying high, some financial services companies are worried about finding enough qualified applicants, Manpower’s Susan Fonatana says.

"You know, as counterintuitive as it seems, you’ve got more demand and less people," Fontana said.

Some analysts attribute the shift in demand of workers to change in the workforce. Many people who lost their jobs in banking over the last two years have moved on.

Even though the outlook has improved, almost three out of four Boston-area companies still plan to make no change to their staffing levels.